In Cape Town this week the news has been all about the dreadful fires and the heat wave - when temperatures reached a staggering, record breaking 43 degrees.
We have experienced 5 days of absolutely devastating mountain fires. Its been one of the worst fires that I can remember.
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| Constantiaberg and Tokai (Photo sent to News24 by James Puttick) |
A number of friends have had to evacuate their homes in the middle of the night as fires raced down the mountains towards them in the strong winds. Thankfully they have now been able to return safely. Others were not so lucky and there has been some heartbreaking loss of property.
Fires have raged through Muizenberg, Noordhoek, Tokai, Constantia and Hout Bay. The mountains are blackened and devastated and the fire fighters, scores specially flown in, continue to fight the fires. The weather has now cooled and there were a few light showers of rain yesterday and this together with the relentless water bombing by helicopters and planes and the work of the fire fighters on the ground has helped to bring the fires under control.
It is very sad to see the mountains go up in flames. The only positive thing to say about such a disaster is that the natural fynbos vegetation requires a fire every 10 years or so for its long term survival and regeneration.
Sorry to hear this Lyn. Living in Aselaide I know the scene, the stress and the long haul for people and vegetation to recover. We had bad fires this summer - a lot of property and animal loss, but no human lives lost. I hope recovery is well under way.
ReplyDeleteHi Jillian. I did hear about the awful fires in Adelaide this year and I hope you were safe. The fires continue to burn here with one now at Cape Point Nature Reserve. We are some distance from the fires so have not been directly involved, but I understand that fire fighters have been relentless in their efforts and the community spirit and efficient organization of volunteers have all been quite outstanding.
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